Only 1 Indian-American wins

SummaryDr Ami Bera was on the cusp of creating history by becoming only the third Indian-American ever to be elected to the US House of Representatives, as five others from the community bit the dust in the polls

Dr Ami Bera was on the cusp of creating history by becoming only the third Indian-American ever to be elected to the US House of Representatives, as five others from the community bit the dust in the polls.

Bera, 45, won a close contest against his Republican rival and incumbent Dan Lungren, when all the votes were counted for the Seventh Congressional District in California.

So far only two Indian-Americans have been elected to the US House of Representatives — Dalip Singh Saund, in the 1950s, and Bobby Jindal, in 2005.

Bera, whose parents migrated to the US some 50 years ago, was endorsed by Bill Clinton last month and he campaigned for him twice.

In neighbouring Ninth Congressional District of California, Republican Ricky Gill lost to incumbent Democrat Jerry McNerney. Gill, 25, was endorsed by top Republican leaders, including Louisiana Governor Nikki Haley and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.

Rest of the four Indian American candidates — Dr Syed Taj, Dr Manan Trivedi, Upendra Chivukula and Jack Uppal — also lost. Except for Gill, the other five candidates were from the Democratic Party.